Fainting Fancies
by poisonivy231
Summary: Rose Weasley is a sixth year with an exemplary school record, an attractive boyfriend, and a great hatred for Scorpius Malfoy. However, when Scorpius starts to act differently towards her, Rose cannot fail to notice and is a little more than confused.
1. Felix Fastidi

Rose turned the page of _Hogwarts: A History_ for what must have been the hundredth time. The book was falling apart, held together with Spellotape. You had to hold it carefully in case one of the many loose pages fell out. It was now impervious to _Reparo_ because the spell had been used on it so many times. She loved this book more than any other, but not just because of its content, which was now rather out-dated. She had read the modern version too many times to count, but she preferred this one. It was her mother's book. It had survived thirty-two years of page turning, being thrown into trunks, being read again and again and again. It held that beautiful smell of old book: musk, butter, lemon zest and potent knowledge that seeped out of the pages and made the back of her nose tingle. She shifted in the armchair, lying down with her head on one arm and her legs dangling over the other. The crackling of the Gryffindor fire was a soothing background to her immersion in the words and the heat warmed her bare feet.

Her feet that someone thought at that moment it would be funny to tickle. Rose screamed and twisted in the chair so violently that she fell to the floor, causing the few people left in the common room to stare at her. She looked up and saw Albus standing over her with a wicked grin on his face.

"Hey Rosie, is the floor comfortable?" He mocked.

"Oh go away, Albus. I'm busy," Rose snapped and stood up gingerly, her knees throbbing slightly from their unexpected contact with the hard ground. As soon as she was on her feet Albus pulled her into a hug.

"Yeah, because reading a book you've read a thousand times is _really_ important, isn't it?" Albus said to the top of his cousin's head. Rose sighed and laughed slightly.

"Shut up. Why are you here anyway?" She asked, pulling her head back so she could see his face. "Can't find a girl stupid enough to go out with you on a Saturday night?" She laughed as Albus pushed her away roughly. She sat down in the armchair again, pulling her knees up to her chest, still grinning. Albus sat in the chair next to her and sighed, leaning his head back against the velvet-covered padding.

"Says the nun."

"Do you even know what a nun is?"

Albus gave her a withering look. "Your mum isn't the only one who grew up with muggles, you know."

"Calm down, Al, I'm only joking."

"I know," he replied, his expression softening. "And I am sure Felix would vouch for you being most unlike a nun." Rose tried to hit him, but he pulled back, laughing. Eventually he stopped chuckling and looked at her, his bright green eyes, just another feature he had inherited from his father, mischievous. "I'm bored as a niffler in a lead box. Want to go out?"

"Where? To the other end of the common room? That sounds like so much fun Albus, why didn't you suggest it earlier?" Rose was deliberately winding her cousin up, and it was working.

"No, to the hallways! I just feel like going for a walk and as it is one in the morning, and we don't have a tunnel from here to Hogsmeade, that is our only option."

"Fine. But you'd better not get us caught because I am not getting detention in our first week back."

"I'm not stupid, Rose. Come on." Albus stood up and walked towards the portrait hole. Rose unpinned her Prefect badge, which she didn't think was appropriate attire for late night trawling of corridors, and tucked it into the pocket of her robes before following her cousin. They clambered out of the Gryffindor common room and wandered through the silent halls, their bare feet making no noise on the cold stone floor. They walked for about half an hour, whispering and laughing as quietly as possible. The last thing they needed was for Filch to hear them. Albus was not only Rose's cousin, but one of her best friends. They spent the majority of their time together, took all the same classes – except Arithmancy, which Albus refused to go near – and played together on the house quidditch team. Them and every other Weasley and Potter. Playing against the Gryffindor team was like playing against a tiger – they were fast, brutal and striped orange and black. It had started with Victoire being chosen as the third chaser in her first year, as nobody else could do what she could on a broom. The next year, Teddy (who was neither Potter nor Weasley by blood but was considered both) had become keeper, only having applied because he wanted to impress Victoire, but who turned out to rival the famous Oliver Wood in his school days. Perhaps it was his godfather's careful talent-nurturing, but Teddy was excellent, and got everything he could have wanted from the Gryffindor quidditch team – he was now captain of the Tornados and married to the beautiful Victoire, and he still kept up the tradition of morphing his hair so it was striped with bright Weasley ginger and Potter black for each match that he had gained in Hogwarts. From that point on, every Weasley or Potter that passed through the school was on the quidditch team, as they had been for generations before, and it hadn't stopped yet. People stopped complaining that it was unfair when Dominique had captained the team and, due to public outcry, had not put a single Weasley or Potter on the team except for herself. Gryffindor had been destroyed in every single match. After a term, Professor Longbottom, Head of Gryffindor House, had ordered that Dominique, for the sake of Gryffindor pride, get rid of her new team and bring back the Weasley-Potter army. As Rose and Albus walked along the Charms corridor they discussed the new moves James was teaching them and how they could use them in the first match of the season, Gryffindor versus Ravenclaw. Albus was just describing how, if it looked like Scorpius Malfoy was going to reach the snitch before him, he would just curse him when Rose pulled back a tapestry covering a hidden passage and they saw none other than the Ravenclaw seeker himself in a rather compromising position. He had Stephanie McLaggen pinned against the wall with her legs wrapped around his waist and his hands wandering in places Rose didn't care to think about. They broke apart to find Rose and Albus staring at them, looks of disgust on their faces.

"Get a room, Malfoy," Rose said, knowing it was childish but not caring at all.

Malfoy prised Stephanie's legs from around his waist and sneered. "Jealous are we, Weasley?"

"Of what?"

Malfoy merely smirked even more and, dragging Stephanie by the wrist, pushed past them down the corridor.

"He is foul," Rose said to Albus as she watched the blonde's retreating back. They began to walk again, in silence this time. Rose was thinking about what Malfoy had said. It was utterly ridiculous that she would be jealous, and of Stephanie McLaggen no less. The girl was a well-renowned slut in the halls of Hogwarts and had no kindness to soften the blow. Rose laughed at her ironic wording of that thought. And then, not only was it Stephanie McLaggen, but she had been snogging _Scorpius Malfoy_, the person Rose hated most, a fact of which Malfoy was well aware. The feeling was mutual. There was no way that she could be the least bit jealous. As she thought this, Rose was refusing to acknowledge the twinge that she had felt in her stomach when she saw the couple, which definitely had not been due to nausea at the sight of their actions.

* * *

_Rose,_

_Meet me at the top of the North Tower tonight at midnight._

_Love, Felix_

She folded Felix's note and placed it beside her Transfiguration textbook. She looked over at her boyfriend, who was sitting a few desks away from the one she shared with Albus. She smiled at him and nodded. She wasn't sure why he did not just ask her at the end of the lesson, but she supposed he wanted to impress her in some way. She turned back to her book in time to see Albus picking up the note and opening it. She had no chance to stop him.

"What on Earth could Felix want with you in the middle of the night? At the top of an empty tower, no less." Albus was smirking. Rose grabbed the note from his hands.

"It is none of your business. Nothing worse than what Sarah Crawley wanted with you in the broom cupboard on the fifth floor yesterday, I'm sure."

"Do you even like Felix?" Albus was ignoring her comment, although his cheeks were slightly pink.

"That is a ridiculous question and I am not going to dignify it with an answer."

"If it is so ridiculous then why won't you look at me?"

A shadow fell over their desk before Rose could give any retort. They looked up to see Professor Finch-Fletchley standing over them with a disapproving look on his face.

"Miss Weasley should be looking at her book, Mr Potter, and reading it in silence. As sixth years, I would expect you to have more sense."

"Sorry, Professor," they said in unison. He walked back to the front of the classroom, his robes billowing behind him. Rose looked at Albus and she could see him trying not to laugh. With a small snort she returned her gaze to Chapter One of 'Guide to Advanced Transfiguration'.

The bell rang ten minutes later and Rose stood up, stuffing her books into her bag. Felix was by her desk in seconds. She turned to smile at him, but he kissed her before she could process what he was doing. She pulled back quickly.

"Felix!"

"What? Can I not kiss my girlfriend? I never knew there was a law against it." He leaned in to kiss her again, but Rose turned her head so his lips hit her cheek, leaving a small trail of saliva.

"I just wasn't expecting it," she said, bending down to pick up her bag and avoiding him while surreptitiously wiping her cheek at the same time. "And it was in front of Professor Finch-Fletchley, too. I'm a Prefect, Felix; I can't just go around kissing people in public." She stood up again and saw that he looked a bit hurt. "Not that I don't want to," she garbled, feeling guilty, "but can we limit it to the hallways, where there are no teachers?"

Felix smiled and pulled her into a hug. "You are far too good, Rosie."

Rose tried not to growl at his use of this name. Only her family called her Rosie, but Felix couldn't seem to accept this. Finally, he released her.

"I'll see you at lunch, ok? I have to run and see Mark. He seems to think Sophie is going to dump him."

"Alright." Rose smiled at him before he turned and ran to find his best friend.

"You are so lucky you don't have to share a room with that idiot. He's bad enough on his own, but Mark just makes him even worse." Albus was still in the classroom, having stood behind Rose as he waited for Felix to leave. At his remark she turned to glare at him, which she had been doing far too much lately.

"Piss off, Albus. You just hate him because he's my boyfriend."

"Well, yes. But he's also a prick. That doesn't help much."

Rose rolled her eyes and walked out of the classroom. Albus wouldn't leave her be, though, so he linked his arm into hers as they walked down the corridor.

"I don't see how you can like him as much as you say you do if you won't even let him kiss you."

"Albus, will you just drop it? I am not in the mood for this right now." Rose sounded serious, so Albus complied and they walked in silence out to the grounds and towards the beech tree by the lake. There they met Hugo, Roxy and Lily, who were sprawled on the ground, enjoying the last few days of sun that had stretched into September. It was Wednesday, six days after their return to Hogwarts. Rose and Albus dropped their bags next to their cousins' feet and Albus joined them on the ground. Rose, however, walked towards the lake. She pulled off her shoes and socks and shortened her robes with her wand so that they only reached her knees before walking into the water. The liquid lapped across her feet and the little stones mixed in the fine silt stuck between her toes momentarily before they were washed away as her feet moved forwards, further into the lake. She stopped when the water reached the middle of her calves and she stood as the chill of the water travelled up her legs and towards the rest of her body.

"Don't be an idiot, Weasley, your feet will fall off," a voice called behind her. Rose looked over her shoulder to identify the speaker.

"What do you care if I lose my feet, Malfoy? It would give you more opportunities to laugh at me."

Irritation flashed across Scorpius' face, but he masked it quickly. "I simply don't wish to look at two ugly stumps every time I walk into Transfiguration. Your boyfriend already provides enough of an eyesore. You should really have him sorted out. He is offensive to the general public."

"Jealous are we, Malfoy?" Rose repeated Malfoy's question to her, smirking. He rolled his eyes at her. Still smirking, Rose turned her back to him and stared out at the lake. The fact that her feet were now freezing was beside the point. She heard him huff behind her, but he said no more. Finally, she heard him stalk off, muttering to his friends. She clambered swiftly out of the water and hurried to cast drying and heating spells on her lower legs before returning her robes to their normal length. As she pulled on her socks, she looked up to watch the blonde-haired Ravenclaw stalk the remaining distance back to the castle.

**Author's Note: Hello! Welcome to Fainting Fancies! This is my first Harry Potter fanfiction, but I don't know how I survived so long without writing one. I wanted a Harry Potter themed title obviously, and Fainting Fancies just seemed perfect to me. As for the title of the chapter, it is of course a pun of Felix Felicis. Fastidi means, among other things, disgust, squeamishness or loathing. Sssshh, I'm a Latin geek, leave me alone! But anyway, I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! And I'm just going to ask one more thing of you. Can you guess? Hmm, I think so. Please please please review! Thank youuuuu.**


	2. Through the Tapestry

**Author's Note: I am so happy! I am now on holiday, so updating can be far more regular, which is just fabulous. Also, I have realised there has been no disclaimer so far, so here it is, and it shall apply to every chapter: J.K. Rowling owns Harry Potter. If I did, I would not be writing fanfiction about Scorpius and Rose, I would be writing a book about them! So, now that's done, I hope you enjoy the second chapter and please review! Oh, and for the Americans among us, if you didn't know already, a rubber is an eraser. Just thought I'd say that before you get any strange ideas about what is going on...**

After dinner, Scorpius could not stand to make conversation. He made up a lie to his friends about needing to go to the library and stopped on the fourth floor as they continued up to Ravenclaw Tower. Once he had slipped away, he tried to decide where to go. In the end, the library seemed his best bet any way. At least he could be alone among the many bookshelves and nobody would be suspicious – he was a Ravenclaw after all. Something his father would never forgive him for. Scorpius had disappointed his father by being too clever and not cruel enough. That just proved to him how messed up his family was. He sighed as he entered the silent library and headed towards the Transfiguration section. He might as well spend his time getting ahead. The only way he had managed to make his father speak to him again was by getting the best marks in the year. Well, the best marks besides those of Rose Weasley. They were constantly tied. He had no idea why she wasn't in Ravenclaw. He shook his head and pulled a weighty tome off the shelf. He had come here to stop himself thinking about Rose Weasley, and so far he had not done particularly well. Sitting at a table, he opened the book to a random page and began to read about _Geminio_, the spell for duplicating objects. He knew they wouldn't cover this until at least halfway through the year, but he was bored. He finished the piece on the spell, reread the key paragraphs, then looked around him. A discarded rubber was lying on the table, breaking in half, probably abandoned by a first year in their perpetual eager hurry. He checked that the scrawny, aged Madam Pince was nowhere nearby, then muttered "_Geminio_" under his breath. There was half a second when he was convinced nothing was going to happen, then the rubber seemed to shudder and Scorpius thought he saw it splitting in two. He now had two half-broken rubbers before him, each an exact replica of the other and he had no way of telling which one was the original. He smiled to himself, pleased with his result.

"That was impressive. Is that the first time you've tried it?"

He looked up to see Rose standing above him. He opened his mouth to try to speak, but he couldn't seem to remember what she'd asked him. He was concentrating on how pretty her hair looked when she had it up, little wisps of auburn hair escaping around her ears. _Stop it! Think, Scorpius. Close your mouth, you doxybrain, and think. What did she ask?_

"Uh…y-yes. I just read about it." He pointed lamely at the book on the table. To his horror, Rose sat down opposite him.

"That's amazing."

He could feel himself blushing and cursed his pale complexion. Thankfully, Rose did not appear to notice. He couldn't understand why he could not think of a single thing to say when she was around. He just ended up sounding like a spoiled brat with an inexplicable hatred for Hogwarts' best-loved witch.

"Don't reckon you could do it, Weasley? I thought you were clever." He wanted to hit his head repeatedly on the table. There he was again: cruel, harsh Scorpius. The part of him he called his Slytherin side. He saw in her eyes that he had hurt her. She had only tried to be nice. But that was what made it worse. She was far too pretty when she was nice, far too beautiful when she smiled.

"I've just never tried it. _Geminio_." She pointed her wand at one of the duplicated rubbers, imitating the movement she had seen Scorpius make. The rubber shuddered again and now there were three of them lying on the table, all identical. She looked at him with a smirk. "Oh. It wasn't hard after all." And with that she stood and all but flounced out of the library. When she was out of sight Scorpius rested his head on the table with a deep groan. He had no idea what was wrong with him. Why couldn't he just have a normal conversation with her? Her very presence was like being Confunded.

"Scorpius Malfoy, you are an idiot," he said aloud to himself. He put his hands on the table, pushed himself up and stood. He returned the book to the shelf and made his way back to his common room. Now that he had spectacularly failed at forgetting about Rose Weasley for just a little while, he allowed himself to give up. He walked up a staircase to the fifth floor and as he began the slow traipse up the spiral staircase to the Ravenclaw common room he contemplated how exactly he felt about Rose Weasley. By the first step he had decided that she was too beautiful to be completely human. By the seventh he had begrudgingly admitted that she was almost as clever as she was beautiful, if not more so. By the twentieth he was battling as to what to think next. Only by the seventy-fifth did he begin to entertain the idea that he liked her. He thought about the way that her smile made his stomach do a small backflip. He thought of the sound of her laugh, his favourite sound in the world. He quickly dismissed that thought. Of course, there were other sounds that he loved far more than that. He could think of none currently, but that was beside the point. Just as he was considering the ways that he could make her laugh, not derisive laughter, but laughter of the kind that Albus Potter was so adept at producing, he reached the top of the staircase and almost walked right into the wooden door. Having mentally shaken himself he knocked.

"If transfiguring an object changes its inherent nature, then why is changing the colour of an object considered to be charming it?" The bronze eagle knocker asked.

"To transfigure an object is to make it unrecognisable from its original form, whereas changing its colour simply edits this form to give an illusion of change to the object's nature. Therefore, charming could be considered the superficial change, when transfiguration edits the soul of an object," Scorpius replied.

"Interesting way of expressing it." The door swung open to allow him entry.

"Bit easy, Rowena, you're losing your touch," Scorpius said as he passed through the doorway.

"You seemed rather too distracted for anything more complex, Mr Malfoy."

Scorpius could detect the humour in the door's tone and he laughed with her. The door swung shut behind him and he walked into the airy room. He spotted his friends Theodore Macmillan and Raymond Stretton by the window and headed towards them. Theo was sitting very low in an armchair, pretending to read a book while secretly watching Amelia Abbott from across the room. Ray was stretched out on the floor for no apparent reason, watching Theo's actions with amusement. Scorpius slumped into the chair next to Theo and kicked Ray's side with his foot.

"Move, lump, I want to put my feet there."

"Oh, hi Scorpius, it's lovely to see you too. Did you have a nice time in the library?"

"Sarcasm doesn't suit you, Mr Stretton, I would advise that you desist." Scorpius grinned at his friend, who begrudgingly sat up and leant against the side of Scorpius' chair.

"I'm going to talk to her," Theo said decisively. His two friends watched as he stood up and walked with great purpose towards Amelia.

"So." Ray took the chair that Theo had just vacated. "How was the library?"

"Terrible."

"How so?"

"I met Rose Weasley," Scorpius replied with a groan.

"Ah. I'm guessing you weren't very nice to her." Ray was, for once, looking sympathetic.

"I essentially told her she was stupid."

Ray considered this for a moment, before saying "You are what is known as a fool, Scorpius."

Scorpius put his head in his hands. "Why can't I just be normal around her?"

"Because you think she's hot and it addles your brain." Theo had returned, having reached Amelia, hovered, and then decided it would be better to leave it. He conjured a beanbag and sank into it. Scorpius gave no reply, because he could not deny what Theo had said, but also would not admit to it. "I think you should just kiss her and get it out of your system. I'm going insane just watching you."

"It's not quite as simple as that, Theo. She does hate him after all."

"Thanks, Ray." Scorpius had lifted his head to glare at his friend.

"Just stating the facts, Scorp." Ray looked at Theo. "She has to at least not despise him before he tries to kiss her, or she'll probably hex him."

"Excuse me. Who ever said that I _wanted_ to kiss her?" Scorpius was trying to make his situation seem less pathetic. His friends merely gave him looks of pity.

"Nobody needs to say it, it is far too obvious," Ray said, not unkindly. Scorpius wanted to glare at them more, but he knew his friends were right.

"So what do I do?" He could not believe he was getting himself into this. Ray began.

"You have to be nice –"

"Well, obviously," Scorpius rolled his eyes. Ray ignored his comment, continuing as though Scorpius had not interrupted him.

"You can't tell her she's stupid, you have to speak to her like she's a respectable human being. Maybe you should start a normal conversation with her."

"Yes," Theo said. "You just need to think of something to talk about. I suppose you could always start with the weather."

"Are you insane? I am not talking to Rose Weasley about uneven cloud coverage!"

Theo grinned, and Scorpius realised he had been joking. He grinned back, seeing the ridiculousness of his situation. Scorpius Malfoy was infatuated with Rose Weasley. He was currently planning to break every unspoken rule set down by their two families. He laughed at the thought of his father's face if he found out. His friends joined him, and they enjoyed one of those inexplicable moments of hysteria, every thought of Rose and Scorpius renewing their laughter.

Finally, once they had calmed down, Scorpius returned his thoughts to their plan. "What about her boyfriend? Felix Rambard."

"I wouldn't worry too much about him. Apparently she doesn't like him all that much," Theo reassured him. Scorpius did not look all too convinced, but Ray spoke before he could reply.

"And that's another thing. You have to stop meeting random girls in the middle of the night. Although why you would want to be alone in a hallway with Stephanie McLaggen still escapes me."

"Don't remind me," Scorpius muttered. "It was horrendous."

Ray laughed at him. "That should stop you, then. But not just her. You have to stay away from all of them, Scorpius. I don't care how much they distract you from your miserable life."

"You make it sound as though there are whole hoards of them! I'm not that bad, Ray."

Ray and Theo raised their eyebrows at him.

"Fine, I'm terrible," Scorpius admitted. "But I'll stop."

* * *

Later that night, Scorpius was not ready to sleep, so he decided to take a walk up to the North Tower. When he was out at night he would often go there, as it was barely ever occupied and, when there were no clouds, the view was nothing short of spectacular. He left through the door of the Ravenclaw common room – "You will get yourself detention, Mr Malfoy" – and made his way down the winding steps. He reached the fifth floor, walked down the hallway and began to climb again, up a main staircase this time. He was thinking through the plan on his way up. He had finally got over his disbelief that he was concocting a plan to woo a Weasley, but it still seemed slightly unreal. Tomorrow was when it would begin. He had Potions after lunch, which the Ravenclaws shared with the Gryffindors. At the end of the lesson, he would stop by Rose's desk to make conversation with her. Ray had decided it would be best if he began by complimenting her on her potion, as this would start it off with a positive edge. Thankfully, this was nearly the only lesson Rose shared with Scorpius in which she did not sit next to Albus. In the first lesson, Professor Albarn had assigned them seats, having told them that he wanted them to study in a different environment, with someone they would not normally work with. Each pair consisted of one Gryffindor and one Ravenclaw. In what Scorpius now considered a great stroke of luck, Ray had been paired with Rose. This would be extremely helpful, as Ray could pass information back to Scorpius and also influence Rose's view of his friend. Scorpius was very happy with how easy this had been so far.

He reached the top of the winding staircase up to the North Tower and he walked through the tapestry in the wall to the right of the ladder leading up to the Divination classroom. Few people knew about the secret staircase hidden behind this tapestry, which clambered up to the very tip of the tower, above the thick-aired room where hundreds of students had struggled to see the future in crystal orbs filled with swirling, soporific mist. At the top of the staircase was a door covered with gold and silver stars and planets orbiting around the large orb of the sun. This was different from the design on the door leading to the Astronomy Tower: the stars and planets moved, but not in the regular orbital movement expected. One could interpret these movements and use them to predict the future. Very apt, considering the tower's general purpose. Scorpius turned the handle and opened the door onto the small room, open on all sides to the night air with just a stone balustrade to prevent someone from falling off the edge. Thinking the room to be empty, he entered and shut the door behind him. He turned and only then did he notice the two people pressed against the wall of the tower. He was about to turn and leave, not wanting to interrupt, but he saw something that made him stop, a sick feeling in his stomach. Delicate white hands gripped the boy's back and one of his hands was buried in the long auburn hair of Rose Weasley.


	3. Garrotting Gas

**Author's Note: As always, please review!**

Rose was fuming. She hit the wall beside her as she stormed up to Gryffindor Tower, then flinched in pain. She cradled her now throbbing hand to her chest, practically yelling the password at the Fat Lady. She ignored Al as she passed him in the common room, heading straight for the staircase to the girls' dormitories. Her dormitory was empty, so Rose slammed herself down onto her bed and screamed into her pillow. Malfoy just made her so _angry_. He thought he was so much better than her just because he was a pureblood. She had vowed to beat him in everything after their very first week at Hogwarts. Not only was she keeping to her father's wishes, but also Malfoy had made it clear that he thought very little of her. This flared up Rose's competitive side. So far, she had only marginally succeeded. The two were almost always tied for top marks, which only served to infuriate Rose more. And it wasn't just the marks. There was something about Malfoy that got to her like nothing else. He riled her so that she was ready to curse him into a thousand pieces, and he hurt her deeply – not that she would ever show it.

"What did my cousin do now?" Alatheia Greengrass had entered the room without Rose noticing and was sitting down on her own bed, which was next to Rose's. Alatheia was her closest friend besides Al, and Rose found it ironic that she was best friends with the first cousin of her arch enemy. Alatheia had never tried to get involved in their fights – she said that she was morally obliged not to pick a side.

"He's just being an idiot again," Rose replied, sitting up in her bed. "Challenging me to perform a spell just because I complimented him on being able to do it."

"Well, did you perform?"

"Yes. Although I was quite afraid it wasn't going to work. He's just so…" She flopped back onto her pillows. "…Argh!"

"I don't think 'argh' is an adjective."

"Shut up, you're not helping." But the corners of Rose's lips were twitching. Alatheia clambered onto her friend's bed, shoving her so she could lie down next to her. The two girls stared up at the red canopy, then Alatheia turned to Rose with a grin.

"What?" Rose asked warily. There was always an uncomfortable conversation ahead when Alatheia gave her that grin.

"A little bird told me that you're meeting Mr Felix Rambard in the dead of night this evening."

"That little bird wouldn't happen to be called Albus Severus Potter, would it?"

Alatheia's grin simply widened.

"I am going to kill him," Rose muttered, looking up at the canopy again.

"So it's true then. I can't possibly imagine what you're going to do, Rosie. You might have to make conversation with him, and that _would_ be hard."

Rose pushed Alatheia and the girl screamed as she fell hard to the floor. Rose knew Alatheia was joking, but there was truth in what she'd said that Rose was not willing to examine further. She looked down at her friend without pity as she pushed herself off the floor and sat down on her own bed, not braving lying next to Rose again.

"I don't see why everyone has such a problem with Felix. He is my boyfriend, and everyone should just accept it." She looked at Alatheia, glaring just slightly to emphasise her point.

"I just worry. Because he used to be such a womaniser, so it seems a bit odd for him to be in a long-term relationship all of a sudden."

"He is attractive. That does not make him a womaniser."

"I never said that. He just happened to be both. And now he is in a relationship with you and I'm sure he's changed." Alatheia lay back on her own bed.

"Yeah, you believe that like you believe Merlin was a squib."

* * *

Felix had told Rose he would meet her under Professor Trelawny's ladder, so when it reached half past eleven, Rose left her dormitory as quietly as possible and clambered out of the portrait hole alone. She had been tempted to turn up in her pyjamas, but she felt that Felix would not appreciate it, so she stayed in her school robes. The halls of Hogwarts were already chilling to winter temperatures, and Rose regretted not bringing her cloak. On the subject of cloaks, in retrospect she should have asked Al if she could borrow his Invisibility Cloak. She did not fancy being caught roaming the halls at midnight – she did hold her Prefect status in rather high stead. Then again, Al had not used the cloak on Saturday when they had seen Malfoy and McLaggen, so maybe James had 'borrowed' it again. The eldest Potter had been deemed 'too irresponsible' to inherit the cloak after he stole the Marauder's Map from his father's desk. Although he had never felt particularly slighted (after all, Harry had not made his son return the map) he would steal the cloak whenever he required it. Lily had also incurred this habit, so the cloak was now a shared family item among the Potters. However, Al was the one that kept it in his trunk and his siblings would borrow it from him and then return it; or, in James' case, borrow it and keep it until Al pestered him enough to make him give it back.

Rose was thinking so intently on the whereabouts of the cloak that she did not realise before it was too late that the next step was a vanishing step. She was pulled unceremoniously from her musings as her foot sank through what had appeared to be innocent stone. She teetered for a second, having lost her balance, but she managed to steady herself. Quickly, before it could sink too deep, she wrenched her leg out of the stone and stumbled onto the next step. She shook her head vigorously, attempting to clear it. She could not be distracted like this when she was with Felix; he could always tell when she wasn't paying attention. That was the way he had got her to notice him back in fifth year. He would tell her every time he saw her drop out of a conversation as she began to think of something else. She had, at the time, found this endearing. Felix's efforts eventually paid off, with Rose agreeing to be his girlfriend just after the Easter holidays. He had stopped mentioning it every time her mind drifted, because she had begun to find it annoying, but she was aware that he always knew. It was worst when they were kissing and she began to think of something else. He would say nothing, but he would pull away from her. She always apologised and tried to bring him back, but he would simply huff and tell her he was no longer in the mood. For some reason, Rose was easily distracted whenever she was with Felix, more so than at any other time. Rose particularly wanted to avoid this tonight, as it would be the first time she had kissed Felix in over two months, so for her to be distracted would be extremely tactless.

She watched carefully where she walked for the next and final staircase that would take her to North Tower. She ignored the yells of Sir Cadogan – "Come back and fight you scurvy braggart!" – and just before she turned around the final curve of the wall, she arranged her face into an eager expression and focused on having fun with her amazingly handsome boyfriend.

She did give a genuine smile when she hurried up the final steps and saw Felix pacing, looking slightly nervous. He caught sight of her and grinned, quickly pulling her into his arms. He gave her a sweet, lingering kiss before burying his face in her hair.

"I was beginning to think you weren't coming."

"I got caught in a vanishing step."

He chuckled in her ear. "In that case, I forgive you." He released her from the embrace, but kept one arm securely around her waist as he led them through the tapestry. Rose had discovered the small room back in her third year. She stumbled upon it by accident, having her head buried in a book and simply walking in the wrong direction once she had descended the ladder. She had absentmindedly pulled the tapestry aside, completely absorbed in Kennilworthy Whisp's definition of a Wronski Feint. It was only by the fifteenth step that she realised. There was no way, being Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley's daughter, that she would not climb those stairs. And since she had discovered the hidden room, she would escape there. After almost half a year she had been unable to keep it from Albus any more. He was the only person she had ever told about it. Felix had found out by accident. He had been watching her all day, following from a distance. He had been doing it for a week and, although at first Rose found it creepy, it soon became another endearing trait. However, she was unaware that he followed her all the way up to North Tower; she did not know that he saw her pull back the tapestry and walk up the staircase; she had no idea that he followed her up the spiralling steps and into the windy room beyond. She only knew when he leaned against the stone balcony beside her and commented on the view, causing her to scream extremely loudly. Once she had got over the initial shock, they talked for hours, simply enjoying each other's company. The next day, Rose agreed to be Felix's girlfriend.

"I missed you." Felix's voice shook her out of her thoughts and Rose cursed herself. She had already become distracted and she'd only just arrived. Felix closed the door behind them and Rose realised that she was supposed to reply in some way.

"I missed you, too," she said, curling into his chest as they walked across the room. He guided them to the balcony and they stood, staring out at the Hogwarts grounds and the surrounding mountains. Rose was just thinking that this is what would be considered a very romantic moment when Felix suddenly turned towards her. He twisted her in his arms before she realised what he was doing and began to kiss her. It was exactly the kiss she expected from Felix after she hadn't seen him for about two months – it was urgent, insistent. She allowed it to continue, keeping her brain focused by thinking about how warm his arms were, wrapped around her waist. He was a very warm person, in fact. His arms were warm, his hand on her face was warm, his lips were warm. And this was how she managed to not be distracted – she thought about Felix, anything and everything about him except for the fact that he was kissing her. He had pushed her against one of the columns, still kissing her furiously. He had somehow worked his tongue into her mouth without her realising. However, he did not seem to have noticed her distraction. He released her mouth to kiss down her neck and along her collar bone. Rose had wound her hand into his hair and was gripping it firmly.

Someone yelled on the other side of the room and a flash of light illuminated the couple. Rose felt Felix fall away from her, and she looked down in shock to see him writhing on the floor, clutching his stomach. After a few seconds, he ceased and lay still, apparently unconscious. He had been hit with Garrotting Gas, but the person behind the spell had performed it so that it only hit him and Rose was left unaffected. She looked up in shock to see who had done this. Standing across the room, his wand hanging limply in his hand and a look of confusion on his face, stood Scorpius Malfoy. He raised his eyes to hers. She could only gape at him.

"I…I'm sorry," he whispered. He seemed just as shocked as Rose. Before she could find her voice, he turned and ran from the tower.


	4. The Draught of Apprehension

For the next week, Scorpius Malfoy studiously avoided Rose. She never passed him in the hallways, did not see him in the grounds. She had searched the Ravenclaw table at every meal, but the boy did not seem to eat. In the lessons they shared, he kept his eyes fixed on the teacher, and exited the classroom too quickly for Rose to corner him. She had to admit, when Scorpius Malfoy chose to avoid you, he would not fail.

Rose stood outside the Potions classroom, letting everyone else pass her. Scorpius always came in last – she assumed to avoid her – and she was attempting to catch him. She waited until the last person entered, but Scorpius had not been among the crowd.

"You coming?"

She looked up to see Ray, the boy she shared a table with, holding the dungeon door for her, his eyebrows raised. She nodded, frustrated, and made her way to their table. As she sat down, the door opened and Scorpius walked quickly to his desk. Rose frowned.

"What's wrong?" Ray was smiling at her. There was something about him that made Rose want to like him. She smiled in return, shaking her head.

"Nothing. Just thinking." She got on well with the Ravenclaw. Then she realised – Ray was Scorpius' friend. How did she not think of that before? "What's wrong with Scorpius?" She knew what had caused it, of course, but Ray might tell her something more. He smiled at her, and she could tell he knew what she was doing.

"He is more than a little confused."

"What does he have to be confused about?"

"Well, I think that's what he's confused about."

Rose opened her mouth, completely nonplussed. Ray chuckled at her baffled expression, but he took pity on her. "Yes, he is avoiding you. He's been skulking in shadows and making us bring him food to the common room. And, when you're not being a dutiful girlfriend and sitting in the hospital wing, he's been to see your boyfriend. It's good Madam Patil has him on a sleeping draft, or Scorpius might be a little worse for wear. He feels bad, but he doesn't want to talk to you because you'll ask him why he did it. And I don't think he really knows the answer to that."

"Oh," was all the reply Rose could give. She did not know what the last part of Ray's little speech was supposed to mean. She turned to face the blackboard and realised that instructions for the potion were already written on it. She fetched the ingredients for her potion, returning to the table to find Ray had lit his cauldron and was doing the same to hers. She thanked him, a bit surprised by this little display of kindness, and began to carefully chop her valerian roots. She was thinking over what he had said. Why would Malfoy go and see Felix? Felix was still in the hospital wing, sleeping off the Garrotting Gas. Madam Patil had said that she had never seen it used in such a way, and she could not find a treatment, so she had decided that a magical sleep would be the best remedy. Rose did not know when Malfoy would have found the time to visit him; since she had stopped searching for the blonde Ravenclaw, she had spent all of her free time sitting dutifully by Felix's bed, doing her homework, reading, anything at all. He must have a free period when she did not, but that would mean he had learnt her timetable. But there were so many things that were strange about the Malfoy boy right now that Rose did not see why he could not have learnt her timetable as well. However, his best friend did seem willing to help her out.

"Ray, I really just want to speak to him. Do you know if there's any way I can do that?"

Ray continued to stir for a moment, thinking before he answered.

"Well, there's nothing that I can really do. If we bring it up, he shuts up like a clam or leaves the room. But...there's something you could do. You know prefect patrols? See if there is any way you can get the Head Boy or Girl to arrange it so that you two are patrolling together. Then you are guaranteed at least a minute when he has to be near you."

"I definitely understand why you're a Ravenclaw."

Ray grinned at her and returned to stirring. Rose did the same, but as she continued, her mind drifted back to thoughts of Malfoy. She was going over everything again, still completely confused, when Ray grabbed her wrist.

"Careful," he said, pushing her hand down so that she did not drop the ingredient into the cauldron. "Do you want your potion to explode?"

"Sorry," Rose muttered. "Got distracted."

"Yeah, I could tell. And you have to change direction in three stirs, so pay attention," he said, not unkindly.

Rose gave a weak smile. "Thanks." She counted three more stirs counter-clockwise, then once clockwise before repeating the pattern: seven counter-clockwise stirs, one clockwise. She blinked the bluish steam out of her eyes as her potion paled dramatically. She remembered her Uncle Harry telling her of the time he first discovered the scribbled notes of Severus Snape, which had been used to amend the instructions for almost all complex potions. This, the Draught of Living Death, was the first of many potions he had made with the help of the Half-Blood Prince.

The bell rang as her potion became completely clear, and the class left them to simmer in their cauldrons until the next lesson. Rose hurried to the Gryffindor common room to retrieve her books for Ancient Runes, then walked to the other end of the seventh floor and stood at the entrance to the Heads' common room.

"Ah, Miss Weasley," said the portrait of Albus Dumbledore, the corners of his eyes crinkling as he smiled down at her. "I take it you are looking for your cousin?"

"Yes, Professor."

"I'll send him right out." Dumbledore disappeared from the portrait for a few seconds, evidently moving to a painting inside the common room, returning just as the portrait swung inwards to reveal the extremely handsome form of Louis Weasley. Having Veela blood certainly makes a difference to a person. Louis had been fighting off the entire female population of Hogwarts (and not too few of the male) for his entire school career. Gryffindor girls had no qualms about his being a Slytherin - they were far too busy drooling over his silver-blue eyes and copper-tinged hair. Now, as Head Boy, his following had only gained force. Louis grinned down at his cousin, showing off his aggravatingly perfect teeth, before he embraced her.

"Hey, Rosie," he said, swinging her slightly from side to side as he hugged her.

"Hey," she replied, extricating herself from him so she could look at him. "I need a favour."

Louis gave a look of mock hurt. "The first time my favourite cousin comes to see me in my new common room, and it's just because she wants something from me?"

"Yes, yes, I'm sorry, but will you help me?"

Louis rolled his eyes and gave a long-suffering sigh before giving up the pretence of annoyance and grinning at her, taking her by the hand and dragging her through the portrait hole. Rose had never been in the Heads' common room before, and she was momentarily dumbstruck. Her eyes travelled over the beautiful furniture, all in blue and bronze, silver and green. The hangings matched, everything co-ordinated to the Heads' house colours. A fire was crackling in the enormous fireplace, and on either side of the room, curving with the sides of the tower, were the staircases leading to the bedrooms.

"Nice, isn't it?" Louis was grinning at her open mouth and wide eyes. Rose nodded fervently, hoping more than ever that she would be the girl to sleep in one of those bedrooms next year. She let Louis lead her over to one of the settees, covered in deep green velvet with silver-painted legs. He pushed her down and sat next to her, allowing her to continue staring at the room for a few moments before he spoke.

"So, what was it you wanted?"

"Um..." Rose blinked a few times, then shut her mouth and shook her head slightly. "I..." She finally looked at her cousin. "I was wondering if I could talk about the prefect patrolling schedule. I want to be paired with someone."

Louis gave her a grin that she couldn't quite decipher. "Sure." He summoned the parchment with the schedule for September on it and rolled it out on the table in front of them. Rose scanned it quickly, checking that the pairing she was after was not already happening at some point. Prefects generally patrolled with the other prefect from their house, but there were occasional times when they had to pair with one from another house due to quidditch practices and club meetings. She was pretty certain it wouldn't be there – Louis knew as well as everyone else that she and Scorpius did not get on, so he was unlikely to pair her with him if he could avoid it. "Who do you want to be paired with? Andrew Keeley, the devilishly attractive Hufflepuff?"

"No, although that might be nice another time." Rose could not deny that the boy was extremely good looking, and although she was dating someone, she was not _dead_.

"Next Thursday," Louis said with another grin, tapping the parchment to amend it. "Now, who is it?"

Rose bit the inside of her cheek. She did not want Louis to take this the wrong way, but she could not exactly explain why she wanted what she did. If she told one cousin the story, the rest would know, and that was far too many people already. It would be all over the school by lunch time. But she needed to do this. "Scorpius Malfoy."

It was Louis' turn to gape. His eyes bulged and the middle of his eyebrows crinkled into a frown. It would have been comical if Rose hadn't been so nervous. "But...why? You hate him!"

"Louis, can you just do it for me? Please?"

He nodded and tapped the parchment, but he still looked shocked and he was muttering to himself. Rose leaned forward to look at the parchment. The little square for that evening now read, in the curved writing she recognised as Louis', 'Scorpius Malfoy and Rose Weasley'. That sight made her feel apprehensive – she would have to spend two hours patrolling with Scorpius Malfoy through the empty hallways of the castle.

"Thanks, Louis," she said softly. She did not want to be questioned further, so she quickly kissed her cousin on the cheek and left the common room. She headed straight for the Ancient Runes classroom. It was still five minutes before the lesson began when she arrived, so she sat down on the floor and leant her head against the stone wall behind her. She had to think of how to start the conversation this evening. They were patrolling after hours, nine to eleven, so the castle would be dark. She had to ensure that he didn't make them patrol separately, he taking one half of the castle and she the other. She would have to make something up, as there was no way he would just agree to it. She could tell him she was afraid of the dark or something. Then came the hard part. Ever since Ray had suggested the idea, Rose had been trying to think of how to start the conversation she wanted to have, but she still had not found the right thing to say.

She heard people coming down the corridor, so she stood up. Although she and Scorpius shared this class, as they did almost every other, she did not bother to be the last to enter the classroom today. She would have two hours with Scorpius tonight. As she sat at the desk she shared with Albus he entered the classroom, catching the door before it closed, as he always did now. He sat on the other side of the classroom from Rose. When Professor Lorien was about to begin the lesson, two owls swooped through a window of the classroom and dropped two letters, one on Rose's desk and one on Scorpius'. They bore the Hogwarts crest, and Rose had a pretty good idea what was inside before she opened hers.

_Dear Miss Weasley,_

_This is a notification of a last minute change to the prefect patrol schedule. You will be on patrol this evening as opposed to Friday, and you will be partnered with Mr Scorpius Malfoy. Please arrive promptly._

_Yours sincerely,_

_Louis Weasley, Head Boy_

Rose looked over at Scorpius. He was still staring at the parchment, reading it over again. Suddenly, he looked over at her, and she looked him in the eye for the first time since he hexed Felix in the tower. There was no way that Rose could tell what he was feeling. His expressions were indecipherable in a way that was mesmerising. Before she could even try to figure out what he was thinking, he looked away, training his eyes on Professor Lorien. Rose was left to struggle through the rest of Ancient Runes, trying to focus and failing.

"Rose, what is wrong with you?" Albus asked when he tried to copy off her and realised that Rose had only translated two runes. She would normally be finished by now. She jumped when he spoke.

"What? Oh, nothing."

"You've barely written anything. Seriously, are you okay?"

The bell rang at that moment and, if she could have done, Rose would have kissed Merlin's feet. She stood up, shoving her books into her bag.

"Yeah, I'm fine," she said to Albus before practically running from the classroom. She went to her dormitory, knowing that all the other girls would be at lunch. She opened her trunk and pulled out some chocolate frogs, ripping the head off one as she sat on her bed, pulling her knees up to her chest. She still had no idea what she was going to ask Malfoy, and since she had stared into his extremely blue eyes she was feeling more nervous than ever. It really did not help matters that he was just so _pretty_. Rose mentally scolded herself. This really was not the time to be thinking about how attractive Scorpius was. She sighed, putting the rest of the frog in her mouth.

The day passed too quickly for Rose. She did not pay attention in any other lesson, which earned her more concerned looks from Albus. She went to dinner to see if Malfoy would show up, which he didn't. She didn't feel hungry, so she picked at her macaroni cheese, ignoring Albus whispering to Hugo about her. She spent the hours until curfew in the common room, managing to write her Transfiguration essay, which she felt was quite impressive in her current state of mind. She tapped her fingers on the side of the chair until five minutes to nine, when she at last got up and headed out of the portrait hole.


	5. Emotional Decree Number Five

**Author's Note: I know, I know, I'm a terrible updater! But there was something about this chapter that was just IMPOSSIBLE to write, so it took me forever. So, here it is. I hope it's okay.**

Scorpius leaned against the wall a little down the corridor from the Gryffindor common room, aiming for a casual, uncaring look. He could at least pretend to be unfazed by the prospect of time alone with an angry Rose Weasley. He could pull out the trademark Malfoy smirk when required. He saw the portrait swing outwards and he had the sudden urge to run away, but he didn't. Rose clambered out of it and began walking down the hall towards him. He was glad he had chosen a part of the hallway that was shadowed, so it would take her longer to see him. He watched her stumble over her own feet a little, face preoccupied. He had never seen her like this. He was generally met with a scowl, or at least a guarded expression of some sort, but he never saw her this way. She wasn't looking happy, but he assumed that was for the same reason that he was. He knew it was strange to think, but he felt privileged to see her thoughts displayed on her face. He had never been privy to it like his cousin had. He felt a little panicked when he thought of Alatheia. Being his cousin, there were things she knew about him that he would not want Rose to know, some of them related to Rose herself. But Alatheia had the duty as the best friend to tell her things. He hoped that, for once, she had kept her mouth shut. He tried to ignore that worry and watched Rose, noticing how bright blue her eyes were when she was like this. They weren't blue like his own, which his mother always compared to aquamarine. They were much darker and had a depth his could only hope to achieve. As he stared at them, they flicked towards him and he cursed himself for not realising how close she had got to him. He quickly broke eye contact, pushing off the wall and walking towards her.

"Evening, Weasley. Which floors do you want? I'm feeling flexible, so you can choose." He didn't know how his voice wasn't shaking, but he knew his hands were, shoved deep in his pockets. He couldn't understand how his father had managed to act this way for so many years. He had to have had a great amount of self-confidence as a teenager. Or maybe it was less difficult when you didn't think the person you were talking was the most beautiful creature you'd ever seen.

She opened her mouth a little, not speaking yet. He thought she looked as though she was steeling herself to say something and he was pretty sure he didn't want to hear it. "Let's patrol in a pair, Malfoy. It gives us more authority if we do find anyone."

He rolled his eyes at her. "Really, Weasley? Are you sure you aren't just scared of the dark?" She looked at the floor. Scorpius didn't catch on for a second. When he realised, he felt a bit of an idiot. "Oh. Fine, pair it is." He turned away from her and led her down the hall, unsure what else to do. The atmosphere was less tense, but more awkward. He couldn't decide whether he thought this was an improvement or not. They didn't speak for the rest of the seventh floor or the sixth. They walked in silence, throwing open broom cupboard doors and pushing back tapestries as they passed them, but not finding any couples inside. They descended the staircase to the fifth floor and Scorpius listened to the sound of Rose's quick footsteps on the stone. He watched Rose push aside the tapestry in front of the secret passageway and peer down the tunnel behind it, remembering when she had done the very same thing two floors below and discovered him with Stephanie McLaggen. Rose must have been thinking along the same lines.

"How's McLaggen?"

Scorpius couldn't tell what she wanted him to say, so he settled for the truth. "No idea. I've been avoiding her."

"The way you're avoiding me?" She dropped the tapestry and turned to him.

"No. She's nothing like you. She's just so…vapid. I don't know how I managed to spend any time with her at all."

Rose looked surprised. Scorpius was pretty sure she had been expecting him to deny that he was ignoring her, or just not answer. However, this seemed to have worked out better for him. At least she didn't look too angry any more. She leaned against the wall and crossed her arms over her chest.

"You're so strange, Malfoy. I never know what to think."

He shrugged. "I could say the same about you."

She looked away from him, staring at the floor again, her teeth pulling on her bottom lip. "Why did you do it?"

He knew what she was asking him. "I…I honestly don't know. You just looked so uncomfortable."

"I was." She raised her eyes to his again. "I was sort of grateful. I know that's awful, but –"

"It's not awful." He stepped towards her. "You can't help what you feel. If Felix makes you uncomfortable…"

"That's not really the right word. I think that's the problem. Just nothing about our relationship is right." She bit her lip again and Scorpius realised just how absurd this was. Rose Weasley, who hated him with a passion, was telling him about her relationship problems. This could not be normal. Everything about the two of them was to the extreme; they never did anything by halves. They also seemed to be thinking the same things at the same time. "Why am I even telling you this? I'm supposed to be shouting at you for hexing my boyfriend."

Scorpius gave a shaky laugh. They were standing much closer than they normally did, a little closer than conversation-distance. Scorpius tried to ignore this very distracting thought as he spoke. "I don't know. You must not be all that angry about it."

"I don't think I am." They stared at each other. Scorpius had this overpowering urge to move closer to her. He couldn't stop himself from reaching up to her hair, not tied up, and curling a strand around his finger before tucking it behind her ear. Rose closed her eyes. Scorpius was sure she could feel his finger shaking as it traced the edge of her ear. Suddenly, Rose seemed to realise what they were doing, opening her eyes and stepping around him into the middle of the hallway. She looked at her watch. "We need to keep patrolling, it's getting late."

Scorpius nodded and followed her as she turned from him to proceed down the hallway. He could not wrap his head around what had just happened. He had been so close to her. She had let him touch her. He wanted to laugh and run away at the same time. Theo was right: she definitely addled his brain. He walked three or four paces behind her for the rest of their patrol. She didn't look back at him, the sleeves of her robes pulled down over her hands and her arms crossed in front of her. She stopped at the top of the marble staircase and Scorpius came to stand beside her. The teachers patrolled from this point. He could see Professor Finch-Fletchley at the doors of the Great Hall, apparently talking to the Fat Friar. Rose still did not speak as she turned and began to head back towards the staircase that would lead them up. Scorpius took this to mean that they were heading back to their common rooms. He followed her again, grateful that he didn't have to speak. He didn't think he would be able to say anything right now. All he wanted to do was kiss her, but he was pretty sure it wouldn't go down well, so he let her lead the way until they reached the fifth floor. She gave him a slight nod, not making eye contact, and he returned it before he turned one way towards the staircase to Ravenclaw Tower, and she turned the other to continue her climb to the seventh floor.

He answered the door's question with no real conviction, but it was good enough to get him through. Ray and Theo were still up, playing exploding snap. His Potions essay still lay on the table beside them, where he had left it two hours before. Theo looked up at him and Scorpius laughed. His eyebrows were singed, half of the right one missing. Ray, on the other hand, was completely fine. It was obvious who was winning.

"Ray is far too good at this," Theo said with a sigh. "How was your patrol?"

Scorpius dropped into a chair beside them and pulled his essay towards him, unsure why Ray was smirking so much. "Fine."

"Did she rage and scream?" Theo asked, leaning forward and pushing the cards to one side. Scorpius picked up his quill, finishing the sentence he had left earlier before he answered.

"No." He dropped his quill again and leaned back in his chair. "Not at all."

"Why?" Theo asked, frowning.

Scorpius looked to Ray, who was being uncharacteristically quiet. His friend raised his eyebrows at him. "She said she wasn't very angry. I think…I don't think she likes her boyfriend very much," he said slowly.

"How do you know that?"

"We…well, it was a weird conversation. I don't really know what happened. It was like we didn't hate each other anymore. We – I touched her."

"You what?" Theo was leaning even further forward.

"Well, I just pushed some hair behind her ear. But…"

Theo laughed. "You know, Scorp, it pains me how much you fancy this girl."

Scorpius ignored him, looking to Ray. "I don't know what happened. It was so strange."

"I'm sure."

"Is that all you have to say?"

"Well, it's not like I was there."

"But you could at least say something!"

"Scorpius, don't get angry at me just because you're frustrated. I don't know all the things that go through her head. The two of you probably just got caught up in the moment."

"But why were we having a moment in the first place?" He hated the complete confusion she inflicted upon him, so that he did not know what was going on in his own head.

Ray shrugged at him. "Maybe she doesn't hate you as much as the two of you think."

"Merlin, I hope you're right."


	6. The Boggart

Rose leaned against the wall outside the hospital wing. She was biting one of her fingernails – a habit she had never quite been able to quit; it always recurred when she was nervous or concentrating extremely hard. One nail still between her teeth, she poked her head round the edge of the door. She could see the curtains set up around Felix's bed, which meant he was changing and would be leaving the ward in less than five minutes. She pulled back, dropping her hand and biting her lip instead as she looked up at the ceiling. She nearly gave up altogether and went back to the common room, but that was just prolonging it. As she waited, tapping her fingers against the wall, returning them to her mouth, then pulling them away in frustration as she realised what she was doing, she tried to stop herself thinking about Scorpius. Her ear felt like it was on fire where his finger had brushed against it, which Rose knew was ridiculous and cliché, but it was the only way she could describe it. She didn't know how it happened. She hated Malfoy passionately, so he should not be doing this to her. Eventually, she heard Madam Patil say goodbye to Felix, tell him not to eat too much fish for the next month and to lay off carrots entirely. She straightened up, dropping her hands to sides, and walked forwards so that he would see her as he left the ward. She'd kept her hair down. It had always made her feel safer when it surrounded her face, resting on her shoulders. She figured she would need that today.

"Rosie!" He walked quickly once he saw her, immediately pulling her into a hug and kissing her. "Merlin, I've missed you."

"You were asleep, how could you miss me?"

"I can miss you from the subconscious. Anyway, didn't you miss me? You're not glad that I'm all recovered? Speaking of which, where's Malfoy? I need to hex him so he can't walk straight for the rest of his life."

Rose tried to step out of his arms, but he pulled her closer. "How do you know it was Scorpius?"

He looked at her like she was mentally deficient. "I saw him, obviously. You know, when I was writhing on the floor and the two of you were just standing there? You thought I'd been in the dark the entire time? No, I've been waiting since last night to find him, when Madam Patil woke me up."

"Oh." Rose was not particularly happy with the idea of what Scorpius would look like if Felix got hold of him. She wondered briefly why she cared, considering how she hated the boy. But she was still not doing what she had planned. She was letting him stall her, which she had promised would not happen. "Felix, I need to talk to you."

He smiled down at her. "I really did miss you, Rosie-"

"Don't call me Rosie."

He rolled his eyes. "I really did miss you, _Rose_." He leaned down and kissed her again. She let him because…well, because she was procrastinating. "Do you want to go down by the lake?" He asked, pulling away just a little.

"Yeah." She would talk to him there, she promised herself.

* * *

"How'd it go?" Alatheia hopped onto Rose's bed where she was sitting with a book, pretending to read it.

"Fine." She turned the page, not looking up.

"You didn't break up with him, did you?"

Rose bit her lip and shook her head. She closed the book and put it on the table beside her bed because she knew Alatheia could tell she wasn't reading it.

"Rose, sometimes I think you are more like a Hufflepuff than anything else."

"Andrew Keeley's in Hufflepuff and there's nothing wrong with him."

"Andrew Keeley would be perfect even if he was a neo-Death Eater."

Rose smiled a little. "True. But he had just walked out of the hospital wing. He was sick! I couldn't do it, not then."

Alatheia gave a groan and slapped Rose ineffectually around the back of the head. "You make up the worst excuses. The longer you wait, the harder it will be."

"I know that. Maybe it just wasn't such a good idea in the first place. Maybe I just shouldn't-"

"Are you still thinking about when Scorp touched your hair?"

Rose blushed, but didn't say anything.

"Exactly," Alatheia continued, taking Rose's flushed cheeks as her answer. "You definitely need to break up with Felix if you're thinking that much about the person you hate the most."

Rose pushed her off the bed. "I hate you sometimes."

"Only because I'm always right." She grinned as she braced herself on the floor and stayed standing, by now being used to Rose pushing her off the bed. Rose swung her legs around so she was sitting on the edge of the bed, looking up at her friend.

"Aly, I just don't know how to say it."

"I can't tell you what to say; you're in the relationship, not me. And anyway, you know you'll just plan a whole speech and end up saying none of it."

"You are being so particularly helpful today."

Alatheia shrugged and went to open her trunk. "Do you just want me to make you feel better? Because it won't help your situation." She pulled out a cardigan, shrugging it on over her muggle clothes.

"Yes. I can't think about this right now."

"Fine." She sat on her bed, facing Rose. "I want to ask you something. How can you still be thinking about Scorp now? You patrolled on Thursday, it is now Saturday, and you're still going over and over in your brain how he touched your hair!"

"Really, this is you trying to make me feel better? You are quite possibly the worst friend in the world!"

"But you didn't answer my question."

"Because it was ridiculous!"

"Not really."

Rose groaned and flopped backwards so she was lying across the bed. She was silent for a little while. She couldn't think of a way to say it that didn't sound terrible. "It just felt so _good_."

"Meet Rose Weasley, the vaguest girl alive."

"Shut up. I can't explain it. It was like his finger was on fire or something." She sat up suddenly. "How can I go out with Felix for months and not feel anything even close to that, but I hate Malfoy for years and then he just touches my hair and…it's so unfair!"

Alatheia giggled at her frustrated friend. "I think you're falling in love with my _terribly_ dashing cousin."

Rose threw her pillow at her. "I am never discussing my love life with you _ever again_."

"Since when was Scorp part of your love life?"

"Miss Greengrass, I most strongly advise you to stop speaking before you get your hair hexed off."

"It's just a simple question, Rosie."

Rose gave a scream of frustration. "Don't call me Rosie!"

Alatheia raised her hands. "Alright, alright, I repent! Please, don't hex my hair off! But seriously," she dropped her hands, "you need to sort out your boyfriend issues. Are you going to keep him or are you going to work up the courage to dump him?"

"I don't know if I want to break up with him."

"You were pretty decided this morning. And you spent two hours down by the lake with him and you're still not certain you want to be with him. Does that tell you nothing?"

"But he's done nothing wrong."

"Rose. You are not attracted to your boyfriend. This is a _bad_ thing."

"Who ever said I wasn't attracted to him?"

Alatheia gave her a look of pity. "You really think I can't tell? You look at Arnold Creevey with more lust than you do Felix!"

Rose wrinkled her nose in disgust. "Don't put the words 'Arnold Creevey' and 'lust' in the same sentence ever again."

"Yeah, in retrospect I think I mentally scarred myself." She gave a shudder. "But still, you understand what I'm getting at, don't you?"

Rose nodded, putting her nail into her mouth and worrying it with her teeth. Alatheia reached across and slapped her hand. Rose removed her hand to stick her tongue out at her, then moved further back on the bed and crossed her legs, biting her nail again. This was a situation which warranted comforting bad habits. She couldn't pretend to herself any more that Felix was the perfect boyfriend. He seemed to act that way originally, but now he had become slightly controlling and didn't seem to know her at all. And if she was being honest with herself she could not remember ever being particularly attracted to him. He had been attracted to her, he had pursued her, and for some reason that had been enough for her. Rose did not understand herself sometimes.

She dropped her hand and uncrossed her legs.

"I'm going to find Felix."

Alatheia smiled, standing with her. She embraced her friend. "Good luck," she said in her ear.

"Thanks." Rose stepped away from her, took a deep breath and prepared herself. Then she walked across the room, pulled open the door and took to the stairs. She un-tucked her hair from behind her ears as she descended them, preferring it to surround her face. She wondered if Felix knew any of these things that she did. She wondered if he even realised she had comforting habits like wearing her hair down when she was nervous.

"Hey, Rosie."

Rose looked up at her cousin who was standing directly in front of her. "Al, please don't call me Rosie. And do you know where Felix is?"

"No idea, Rosie. He's not in the dormitory if that helps."

"Thanks." Rose held out her arms and Albus stepped into them. She hugged him for a few seconds, taking comfort in the bright green of his jumper that Grandma Weasley had knitted 'to match his eyes'. When she drew back, Albus put his hands on her shoulders and scrutinised her from arm's length.

"Are you alright, Rose?"

She nodded, but she didn't particularly try to be convincing. Albus would know something was wrong whether she lied or not, and he would find out from Alatheia either way.

"I've got to go, Al. I'll see you later."

She pulled away before he could question her further and climbed out of the portrait hole. She ignored whatever the Fat Lady said behind her about what colours didn't go with freckles and began to search the halls. She didn't know exactly where she should look for him, because if he wasn't in Gryffindor Tower then he could simply be anywhere. She was almost certain he wouldn't be in the Library, so she would look there later. She wandered down the stone hallways, reprimanding herself for not wearing a cloak. Winter always seemed to come earlier at Hogwarts.

"Looking for anything, Weasley?"

She stopped walking and turned around. She could not believe this had to happen now. "Y-yes, actually." She couldn't help the slight stutter; Scorpius seemed very different to how he had looked just two days ago. To her he appeared a lot taller and far too beautiful for it to be allowed. She cursed her ridiculous adolescent brain as she looked up at him.

He raised his eyebrows at her and she realised she had not been particularly expansive.

"I'm looking for Felix." She noticed his features harden a little.

"Oh. Well, I'm sorry, Weasley, but I can't help you there." He turned from her quite abruptly and began to walk away.

"Ma-Scorpius."

He turned to look at her, evidently confused by the use of his first name.

"Would you…if I hadn't been looking for Felix, if I'd been looking for something else, would you have helped me?"

He stared at her for a moment, then nodded and left. Rose stood in the hallway, completely confused as to why Malfoy would bother to be nice to her.

**Author's Note: Oooh, she's so silly, isn't she? She just has no idea. I'm now developing Rose's friendship with Alatheia because I personally like their friendship (and that sounds weird because I made it up, but sometimes I think my characters do their own thing and I just document it. You'd have to be me to understand) but please tell me what you think of it. Do you want more? Less? But anyway, the story is getting all exciting now, isn't it? Please review and tell me everything you want to say!**


	7. Erosmancy

**Author's Note: I am so sorry I haven't updated in so long! I have multiple reasons, (such as school and stressful things like essays that actually count towards my final mark) but still, I apologise! I am working on the whole balancing-my-life thing, so hopefully when I get off the holiday I'm on right now I will be able to keep up the updating! But I am back now, so I hope you enjoy this chapter.**

On Monday, Scorpius went to breakfast early, dragging a grumbling Theo with him.

"Why? Why would you make me walk at this ungodly hour? You're a terrible friend..."

"Oh, shut up. It's eight o'clock!"

"Eight? Seriously? You're making me eat breakfast at eight in the morning? What is wrong with you?"

Scorpius didn't reply, letting Theo rave on about how he never ate before twenty past. He wanted to see Rose that morning; he was going crazy not knowing what had happened with Felix. He was almost certain she had been planning to break up with him. Aly had hinted as much to him, but he wasn't sure if he had interpreted her correctly. He pushed Theo through the doors of the Great Hall first, then followed, scanning the Gryffindor table. Rose wasn't there yet. He made Theo sit with him on the opposite side of the table than they usually did - the side facing the Gryffindor table. He snuck glances at it over his scrambled eggs, waiting for her.

"Scorp. Scorp! You're not listening to me, are you?"

"What? Oh, sorry. What were you saying?"

"I was just saying that I've figured out why you dragged me out of bed inhumanely early."

"Mmmm?" Scorpius resisted the urge to look at the other table again.

"You want to know if Rose has broken up with her boyfriend."

Scorpius choked a little on the pumpkin juice he had been swallowing. "What?"

"Aly told me what she told you. Ray and I are her friends too, you know. But I still don't know why you had to bring me with you for you to drool over her."

It's not like there was any use in denying it if Aly had spoken to him. "I can't sit here alone. It would look weird."

"Is that all I'm good for? Making you not look like a lonely sod?"

"Would you just stop it now? You've thoroughly embarrassed me, so you've achieved your aim. There's nothing wrong with wanting to know if she's broken up with him."

"You should start paying attention now if you want to know."

Scorpius looked up and saw Rose sitting among her fellow Gryffindors, buttering a piece of toast. Felix wasn't with her, but he wasn't anywhere else in the Great Hall, so that didn't tell him much. Scorpius looked to Rose's right and saw Alatheia smirking at him. When he looked at her, she stuck her tongue out. He rolled his eyes in reply. He realised Rose had become aware of this exchange and was looking at him. He met her eyes and tried to think what to do with his face.

"Smile at her," Theo whispered out of the corner of his mouth. It was at times like this that Scorpius was thankful his friends knew him so well. He gave Rose a tentative smile across the hall. She smiled in return, looking a little confused, but she was stopped from communicating any more with him by the arrival of The Boyfriend. Scorpius tried not to scowl as he watched Felix lean over Rose, his arm around her back as his hand rested on the table beside hers. He whispered something in her ear. Scorpius saw Alatheia roll her eyes. Rose didn't look particularly happy. She turned to Felix and said something Scorpius had not a hope of hearing, stood up and led a frowning Felix out of the hall.

"What do you think that means?" He turned to face Theo once the pair had left the hall.

"Ask your cousin."

Scorpius hadn't thought of that. He looked at Aly again, catching her eye and beckoning to her. She shook her head, smirking again. He rolled his eyes dramatically.

"I'll see you in Charms, okay?"

Theo looked up at him. "Do I even need to tell you how obvious it is that-?"

"No, actually."

Theo grinned and patted him on the back. "Fine, see you later."

Scorpius nodded and left their table, sitting down again next to his cousin.

"Oh, hello, Scorpius, fancy seeing you here."

"What did she say to him?"

"You could at least say good morning."

"Aly, please, just be nice to me. I feel stupid enough as it is."

She grinned at him. She leaned closer and whispered, "Why? Because you're falling for my gorgeous best friend who also happens to be your arch nemesis?"

"Yes, now can just tell me what she said?"

"So you admit it?"

"Aly, seriously..."

"Alright, alright. He came over and started talking about how he'd been thinking about her or whatever. He said something about hexing your balls off, I think." She flashed him another grin. "Then Rose just said they needed to talk and they left. He didn't look too happy. When your girlfriend says you need to talk, it generally doesn't end well."

Scorpius had shifted closer to her as she spoke. Their heads were very close together. "So you think she's going to break up with him?" He spoke quietly, glancing around to make sure no-one was listening in.

"She might do. She generally plans to do things and ends up chickening out. She's quite a terrible Gryffindor, really. At least, she is when there are boys involved." Alatheia gave him a pointed look. "So, how are your Malfoy charms working on her?"

Scorpius looked away, his cheeks flushing a little. "I'm not using any 'Malfoy charms'. I don't think there are any."

"But Scorp! You're such a notorious womaniser! How did you ever do it? You can't even woo one little Weasley!"

"Shut up! People will hear you! And I was never a womaniser."

Aly raised her eyebrows.

"Fine, maybe a little," he said. "But not anymore. And it is so much harder to make someone like you when they've spent their whole life hating you. The girls I dated did not hate me."

"Oh, Rose doesn't hate you," Alatheia said as she reached out to grab another bread roll. "She might have before, but that was just on principle. I wouldn't say she likes you. I think she is far too confused to like or hate you, but confusion is better than loathing, in my opinion. Just keep smiling and I think she'll warm to you, Malfoy charms or no."

"It would be easier if she didn't have her stupid boyfriend coiled around her at every waking moment."

"He might not even be her boyfriend anymore, so stay positive. Come on, Loverboy, get up or we'll be late for our first lesson."

"I'm really not in the mood for Arithmancy right now. It's a Monday morning. I swear the person who does the timetables has it in for me."

"I have Herbology and Professor Longbottom loves me, so I am feeling perfectly happy."

"You're so smug. It's extremely unattractive."

They bickered with each other until they reached the Entrance Hall, where they split, Alatheia going through the doors to the grounds and Scorpius climbing the Marble Staircase, heading for the Arithmancy classroom on the seventh floor. There was one bonus to Arithmancy: he shared this class with Rose, but not with any of her cousins or her boyfriend. Also, they did not have assigned seating. When he entered the classroom, Rose had not yet arrived, but most of the other students had so there were very few desks left. There was one desk completely free, space for two people to sit. Scorpius placed his bag on it. Other straggling students entered, all Gryffindors. None of them took the seat next to him, which left it as the only one available. Scorpius allowed himself a small smile of triumph. He would at least sit next to her, even if they didn't speak. He reached down to pull his number charts out of his bag. With his head bent low he heard footsteps approaching the desk. Someone cleared their throat. He sat up, the charts in his hand, and looked at Rose.

"Can I sit here?" She pointed at the desk next to his. He nodded. As she sat down and rummaged through her bag, he wondered if he had imagined the slight thickness to her voice and the red rim around her eyes. He wasn't sure, but she might have been crying. However, he might have just imagined it as his desperate brain searched for some clue as to the outcome of her conversation with Felix. She caught him looking at her and gave him another smile. He returned it, then turned to watch Professor Vector, who was now quite magnificently old. The witch's hair was a bright white and her fingers bony, but it had not at all diminished her movements, her strictness or her exceptional magical skill. In his peripheral vision, he saw Rose staring at her parchment, evidently distracted.

"Miss Weasley?" Professor Vector had just asked a question, and it was obvious who she wanted to answer it. Rose's head snapped up.

"Um..." she said. Not listening in Arithmancy had serious consequences.

"Seventy-three," he whispered, so quietly that he wasn't even sure if Rose had heard him.

"Seventy-three," she said to the professor, who gave a small "hmph".

"Do try to look as though you are paying attention, Miss Weasley."

"Sorry, professor."

Vector turned away and carried on with the lesson. Rose looked at Scorpius.

"Thanks," she whispered.

"You're welcome. You looked upset enough without Vector on your back as well."

She smiled, but didn't look all that happy. "Yeah, I was preoccupied."

"With Felix?" He probably shouldn't have said it, but Rose made him do stupid things. Rose stared at him, her expression unfathomable to him.

"Yes. I broke up with him."

Scorpius had to work very hard not to smile. "I'm sorry. Are you okay?"

"Yes, I feel much better, actually. It was just a bit shocking. You made me realise that it wasn't a relationship I really wanted. So...thank you, I suppose." She held his gaze, the corners of her lips lifting so that she was smiling at him again. His body, seemingly of its own accord, leaned towards her slightly. She either didn't notice or didn't mind. She shifted in her chair, turning a little towards him. Scorpius' eyes flicked down to the desk, where her hand was lying. His brain was telling him that he was going insane as he reached out to it and wrapped his fingers around it. He looked up at her again, trying to ask her if this was okay. She moved her hand and he began to withdraw his, but she entwined their fingers. Scorpius stared at her. He didn't know what they were doing, but he wasn't going to stop.

"Mr Malfoy, Miss Weasley." Professor Vector was standing in front of their desk. Scorpius and Rose moved at the same time, pulling their hands apart. The professor gave them a glare. "Keep your private conversations for outside my classroom. If I catch you talking again it will be detention for both of you." She turned from them, her cape sweeping behind her. Scorpius didn't look up for the rest of the lesson. He was sure that everyone in the class was staring at them. By lunch time, the whole school would know that Scorpius Malfoy and Rose Weasley had been having a 'private conversation'. He also couldn't look at Rose. He had no idea what to say to her. He bent low over his charts, wishing, for the first time in his life, that he could have been born a Creevey.

**Author's Note: So? Please review, guys, it makes my day better! Although I probably don't deserve them after being such a neglectful updater...ALSO, can any Classics nerds (like me) guess why I named this chapter 'Erosmancy'? Yes, you can use the Harry Potter wikia page on Arithmancy to help you half the way. Wow, I am SUCH a nerd. Is there anyone else like me out there?**


	8. Gossip Witch

**Author's Note: HAPPY NEW YEAR! Hope you all have a wonderful year.**

**Now, nobody guessed the whole reason for the title of the last chapter, but that's okay. Eros was one of the Ancient Greek gods of love, and eros was also a Greek word for love. Mancy, such as in Arithmancy, comes from the Greek mantis, which is a prophet, so it is often used to imply prediction of the future. THEREFORE, my little created word, Erosmancy, is like a 'prediction of love'. See? SEE? Ah, I have too much time. Anyway, enjoy the chapter and the year to come!**

"They were holding hands."

"I heard they were kissing."

"- secret affair -"

"- cheating on Felix. You know? Felix Rambard."

"Stephanie said he's been distant. It makes sense, doesn't it?"

Rose stared at the floor as she walked to the Great Hall for lunch. She knew gossip and Hogwarts got on like Fiendfyre, but it had barely been two hours since her Arithmancy lesson and already everyone in the hallway was staring at her. She tried not to blush at some of the comments, but her Weasley genes betrayed her. She wondered if Scorpius was experiencing the same thing. She entered the Great Hall and quickly found Alatheia, dropping her bag beside her and sitting down.

"Aly, this school is insane."

Aly turned to her with a smirk on her face. "Personally, I think you're insane for kissing my cousin in an Arithmancy lesson."

"I didn't kiss anybody!"

Alatheia laughed. "Rose, I'm teasing you, don't worry. However, rumours like this don't often spring up out of nowhere. What did you do?"

"Nothing."

"Rose, you can't lie to me. Anyway, I can just ask Scorpius, so you're only delaying the inevitable."

Rose looked down at her hands, hating that she was blushing again. "We...Aly, it sounds so strange."

"Rose, just tell me."

"We held hands. Only for a few seconds, though! It was just odd because I don't really know why we did it." She looked up at her friend. "Aly, I'm so confused."

"You're not the only one."

Rose didn't have time to ask her what she meant because Albus sat down opposite them at that moment with a frown on his face.

"Rose," he said, "please tell me that you are not having a secret affair with Scorpius Malfoy, because if you are meeting up with him in broom closets -"

"Albus, calm down. I'm not having an affair with anyone, secret or public."

"So you breaking up Felix is true? I thought that was just part of the rumour."

Rose sighed and pulled the potatoes towards her. "Yes, that part is true. I am now very much single."

"Thank Merlin," Albus muttered.

Rose glared at him. "And even if I was having a secret affair, why would you care?"

"I am your cousin! It is my job to care."

"To care, yes, but not totally suffocate me!"

"I don't suffocate you!"

"Oh, of course not. You've never hated any boy I've ever liked on principle."

"Merlin's bollocks, will the two of you SHUT UP?" They paused in the middle of their fight when Alatheia yelled at them. "Just stop," she continued at a quieter level. "I am not in the mood to listen to you today. Albus, Rose is not dating my cousin. However, this doesn't mean that she does not and will not date. You're just going to have to get over that. Rose, calm down and eat. Everyone will have forgotten this soon."

The two of them glared at her, but soon began to eat in silence. Rose looked at her plate to avoid eye contact with anyone in the hall; they all seemed to be whispering to each other and she was certain she knew what the popular topic of conversation was.

* * *

Rose kept her eyes fixed on her parchment, making notes on Snargaluffs with greater concentration than she had given to any form of work lately. She couldn't quite make out what the two girls by the fire were whispering about, but she was almost certain she had heard the words 'Malfoy' and 'Weasley' mentioned more than once. When she had looked around the common room earlier, many people had hurriedly turned to their friends and struck up bland conversations, which only confirmed her suspicions that they had been watching her. Rose had spent that afternoon with her face concealed by her hair as the school filled with whispers about Rose Weasley and Scorpius Malfoy sitting too close for comfort. As was common with Hogwarts gossip, there were numerous versions of the story, ranging from them kissing in the middle of the lesson to Rose bewitching Scorpius to fall in love with her. She had accidentally passed Scorpius in the hall at one point and the wolf-whistles that ensued had echoed loudly through the passages.

"Rose, _what_ is going on? The Hogwarts grapevine has gone insane! Alicia Finnegan just told me that you and Malfoy are having a secret forbidden love affair!"

Rose dropped her quill and sat up. "Hugo, can we just not talk about it?" She frowned at her little brother, annoyed that he was saying exactly what Albus had done. She had barely seen him since they had been back at school and in their first proper conversation since term had begun he was forcing upon her the one topic she most wanted to avoid.

"Wait, it's not true is it? You and Malfoy aren't kissing behind tapestries or anything, are you?"

"No, of course not. I've just heard far too much Hogwarts gossip today and I'd rather not talk about it any more."

"Why would they even think that? You hate Malfoy."

Rose stood up. "I think I'm going to go to bed."

"Rose, wait –"

"I'll see you in the morning, Hugo." She picked up her essay and climbed the stairs to her dormitory. She knew he would be suspicious, but she didn't feel like avoiding the truth and didn't want to reveal it, either. She was not ready to tell her baby brother that she _wished_ the rumours were true. At least, she did wish that she could be having a secret love affair with Scorpius Malfoy, as ridiculous as she knew that sounded. She had been avoiding thinking about it, but when he had held her hand she had been unable to deny it any more. He was completely consuming her thoughts and making her go crazy. She was pretty sure that if Professor Vector had not walked up when she did, she would have done something absurd like kiss him because he was making her lose her senses. His hand had been wonderfully warm, and when he had leant towards her she had caught some of his scent. It had made her feel a little light-headed. She had had no idea one person could smell that good.

These confusing thoughts, combined with her removal of herself from a long-term relationship had led her to feeling particularly disinclined towards conversation. So when she pushed open the door to the dormitory to one of the rare moments when every girl was there this early in the evening, she wanted to turn around and leave again. They were sitting on the two middle beds, legs crossed and all looked up at Rose when she entered.

"Hi. What's going on?" Rose crossed the room and squeezed in between Aly and Cynthia Rendelco, resigning herself to girly chat. She hoped it would at least be slightly senseless and easy to tune out.

"We were just…talking." Cynthia looked slightly uncomfortable.

"About what?" Rose was pretty sure she already knew the answer.

"Did you really kiss Scorpius Malfoy in Ancient Runes?" Jenna Kepner was staring at Rose from the other bed. All the other girls looked a little shocked, but leaned closer in anticipation.

Rose rolled her eyes. "No, of course not."

"Oh, Rose, that makes life so much less interesting," Jenna replied with a grin. Rose laughed with the rest of them.

"I know you hate him, Rose," Cynthia said, "but you have to admit he is one of the hottest guys you have _ever_ seen. Merlin, his eyes…" The girls laughed again, but Rose could only manage a smile as she felt her face flush red. This was becoming more awkward by the second, not least because she had definitely noticed a stab of something that felt remarkably like jealousy when Cynthia had spoken.

"Ew, guys, please remember that you are sitting in a room with is his cousin!" Alatheia had her nose wrinkled in disgust.

"Oh, sorry!" Cynthia was still laughing. She looked at Rose and her smile faded. "Oh, Merlin, I'm sorry. Are you okay about Felix?"

Rose put her head in her hands with a groan. "Yes, I'm fine. Can we not talk about it? I want to forget that whole…" She sat up and waved her hands around. "That whole period of my life. Just talk about something fun. Anything." She grinned, trying to tell them to carry on.

They got the hint, questioning Jenna about her new boyfriend with extreme enthusiasm. Rose tuned in and out of the conversation, her thoughts switching between whether Stephanie McLaggen really was going out with Andrew Keeley, and Scorpius.

* * *

Scorpius pulled open the door to Ravenclaw Tower and started down the stairs.

"Mr Malfoy," said the door behind him, "what is this I hear about you and the young Miss Weasley? I'd be careful there, boy, girls as clever as her are often difficult to keep hold of. If only she had been in our house…"

He turned to stare at the door. This was ridiculous, even for Hogwarts. A _door_ knew about this.

"There's nothing going on, Rowena, so I wouldn't worry about me."

"Really? Well, that is disappointing. Do keep me updated, won't you? You know, just in case. A potential revival of a blood feud, although ridiculous, does tend to make life more exciting."

Scorpius rolled his eyes at the door, hoping it could somehow see this gesture, and turned away to continue his descent. He had been unable to remain in the common room any longer: work was out of the question with Ray and Theo constantly asking what had happened to start the rumour, and he couldn't stand all the looks his fellow Ravenclaws were unashamedly giving him. It was still before curfew, but thankfully most people would be in their common rooms at this time, so the halls would be empty. Once he reached the bottom of the winding staircase and stepped out into the corridor he went in the direction of the nearest staircase, relishing the peace of the dark stones around him. For the first time since Arithmancy that morning, he was not followed by whispers and raised eyebrows. Hogwarts seemed to be particularly taken with this story, most likely because his family and Rose's were not exactly the best of friends, if you discounted Alatheia. There had been a fair amount of talk when she was sorted into Gryffindor and befriended Rose, but her lack of the name of Malfoy made it less of a scandal.

He reached the bottom of the staircase and cursed under his breath. A girl was walking down it and was only a few steps above him. She was in shadow, but there was no way she hadn't seen him. He had been hoping to avoid bumping into anyone because of the inevitable awkward moment that would follow. However, as the girl walked down the last few steps she was illuminated by the moonlight from one of the corridor's windows.

"Hi, Scorpius." Rose blushed as she stood in front of him.

"Hi. Escaping the common room?"

"The dormitory."

He nodded, putting his hands in his pockets. They started to walk, turning the corner he had just passed. Rose stopped unexpectedly, leaning against the wall and running her fingers through her hair. "I hate Hogwarts gossip," she said quietly.

"Tell me about it," he replied, leaning next to her. "Stephanie's been giving me murderous glares all day. That girl is crazy."

Rose giggled and he turned his head to grin at her. They stared at each other and Scorpius remembered the reason for all the gossip. "Look, Rose, about what happened in Arithmancy-"

She put a finger to his lips. His eyes widened in shock and he had a terrible urge to kiss her finger, which he quickly suppressed.

"Scorpius," she whispered. He couldn't remember when they had started to call each other by their first names, but he knew he never wanted to switch back. "Scorpius, it is far too confusing to talk about. Just know that I…liked it." She blushed a very deep red and looked away. She removed her hand, but Scorpius grabbed it. He didn't really know what he was doing, but he was used to that with Rose by now. She looked up at him again and he searched her face for some kind of indication that he should _stop right now_, but he found none. He interlinked their fingers, not looking away from her face. Their eyes were locked, blue on blue. He couldn't remember the last time he blinked. He leaned towards her, stopping when the sides of their noses brushed against each other. His eyelids closed and he could feel her breath on his lips.

"Rose! What are you doing?"

She pulled away from him sharply, disentangling their fingers and dropping his hand as she moved away from the wall. Scorpius saw her cousin standing opposite them, looking like he wanted to punch something, most likely Scorpius himself.

"Albus," she said, "just leave it."

He didn't heed her. "So it wasn't just a rumour, then."

She grabbed his arm and dragged him away, silencing him with her wand when he tried to protest. She looked back over shoulder at Scorpius, mouthing an apology to him before she blushed and turned away, continuing to lead her cousin away down the hallway.

Scorpius leaned heavily against the wall, letting out a large breath. He wondered what would have happened if Albus hadn't interrupted them. He slapped the wall behind him in frustration and walked in the opposite direction to the one Rose and her cousin had taken, making his way back to Ravenclaw Tower.


	9. Puffskeins to Fog

Scorpius couldn't stop himself glancing at Rose in Transfiguration. She was sitting with Albus, who was constantly whispering in her ear. From the glares Albus kept giving him, Scorpius was pretty convinced he knew what they were talking about. He smiled a little when Rose pointed her wand at her cousin's chest with a slightly demented look in her eyes as she hissed something at him. He raised his hands, rolling his eyes, but he seemed to consent to stop. Scorpius wished he could hear what they were saying, even though he could already guess.

"You know, Scorp, staring at someone that much can be considered stalkerish."

Scorpius turned to glare at Theo, who was smirking as he transfigured his puffskein into a bouncy ball. Scorpius started to laugh, however, when Theo's newly-transfigured bouncy ball continued to trill like the puffskein it was.

"You're just jealous, Theo."

"Oh, really?"

"Yes, because I can do this." Scorpius pointed his wand at his puffskein, did a non-verbal spell and was left with a perfect, silent, bouncy ball. He picked it up and bounced it off the floor, catching it in his hand again. "Hmm, quite a good bounce, don't you think?" He smirked at his friend, putting his Malfoy talents to use. Theo punched him softly on the arm.

"You are the epitome of egotistical. I hope that changes now that Weasley's rejected you."

"She didn't reject me!"

"Oh, sure, her cousin just happened to turn up. I know the story, Scorp, there's no need to be embarrassed."

"That's honestly what…" He sighed. "You're not serious, are you?"

Theo grinned wickedly. "Scorp, you are so unbelievably easy to wind up! You bring out my secret Slytherin side."

Scorpius frowned and turned back to his bouncy ball. He flicked through the book, swishing his wand to transfigure the small rubber sphere into a kettle, a very small pig, a budgerigar, a frog, a bouncy ball again and then back to a puffskein.

"Very impressive, Mr Malfoy," said Professor Finch-Fletchley from beside Scorpius' desk. "Ten points to Ravenclaw."

"Thank you, professor."

The man gave Scorpius a smile that he knew very well and continued to pace the classroom.

"You are such a teacher's pet," Theo sniggered, pointing his wand at his puffskein again and finally succeeding in making a silent ball.

Scorpius rolled his eyes. "It's not like it does me much good, though."

"What do you mean?"

Scorpius glanced at Rose again. She looked at him at the same time, and she stared at him for a few seconds, before Al yelled at her because her puffskein had grown to the size of a Quaffle. She jumped and hastily shrank it before turning it into a ball. Scorpius tried not to laugh too hard, but he was grinning when Rose looked up at him again. He bit his lip to keep the laughter in and Rose looked annoyed, but soon smiled at him. Before he realised what was going on, she had thrown the ball across the classroom with her perfect, Chaser-trained aim. Scorpius had move very quickly to catch the ball right in front of his face. He dropped his arm to see Rose laughing at him. She stuck out her tongue, then turned to help Albus. Scorpius turned to face the front again, grinning slightly foolishly.

"Well, that was just sickening," said Theo.

Scorpius ignored him, instead throwing and catching Rose's ball. He noticed that it had tiny coloured spots on the outside and when he examined them closer he realised they were miniscule images of puffskeins that moved across the rubbery surface. He admired her handiwork, then picked up his own to compare them. His was a solid blue colour, and he glanced at Theo, hoping he wouldn't notice whose eyes that colour matched. Scorpius had in no way intended that colour to occur. After all, his puffskein had been dark brown, and he hadn't performed a colour-changing spell.

He tucked both balls into the pocket of his robes when the bell rang, swinging his bag over his shoulder as he waited for his friends.

"Scorpius."

He span on the spot at the sound of her voice. "Yeah?"

"Can I have my ball back, please? It might need to be assessed, so…"

He watched her blush and quashed his urge to kiss her yet again. He nodded, pulling both of the balls out of his pocket. He looked at both of them, then held out his own to her.

"Why don't you take mine? It matches your eyes." He could have kicked himself. That was not the sentence he had meant to say. She looked a little confused for a second, but then she smiled and reached out her hand. Scorpius was hoping she didn't think he was utterly crazy, but he became distracted when her fingertips brushed against his palm. He blinked, trying to clear his head and stop himself from saying any more ridiculous things.

"Thanks. I'll…see you later?"

Scorpius nodded, not trusting himself to speak. She gave him a last smile, then left the classroom. Ray had joined them from his own table at some point in the conversation, but Scorpius hadn't noticed until now.

"Theo," he said, "I think we might need to carry Scorp to the common room, he looks a little faint."

* * *

Scorpius ran Rose's ball between the fingers of his left hand, his fork in his right. He was sitting among his Ravenclaw friends at dinner, not really listening to the conversation that was going on around him.

"Scorpius!"

He dropped the ball in shock, but caught it as it bounced off the table. "Yeah, sorry. What were you saying?" He turned to Ray, who sat on his right.

"I was saying would you please put that ball away? You've been playing with it all day and it's driving us insane."

Scorpius clutched the ball into his palm and reluctantly stowed it in his pocket.

"Where did you get it, anyway?" Lorcan Scamander, one of Scorpius' other dorm mates, asked.

"Transfiguration," he muttered. Apart from Ray and Theo, his friends accepted this as a valid answer and moved onto other conversations. He returned to not really listening, eating in silence as parts of what they were saying filtered into his brain.

"I never thought the Sorting Hat could be wrong, but in her case…"

"I know. It's like she hid all her brains from it or something."

"Who are they talking about?" Scorpius whispered to Ray.

"Only your favourite Gryffindor," he whispered back.

"Maybe I've just missed it," said Lysander, Lorcan's twin, "but I've never seen her be significantly braver than she is clever, and I see her every holiday."

"She can be brave when she wants to," said Scorpius, more to himself than the others.

"How would you know?"

He looked up, trying to stop the emasculating blush he knew was developing. "I just heard someone say that."

"Are you sure the two of you aren't really having a…what did Stephanie call it?" Lorcan turned to his brother.

"A secret affair, a passionate fling, a sordid romance. She called it many things." The twins turned to Scorpius with identical grins, only making him blush even more.

"No, we're not."

"Not yet," said Theo. Scorpius turned to glare at him.

"What?"

"Nothing, Lorcan, Theo's just being an idiot."

"At least I'm not a lovesick fool," Theo replied with a laugh.

"Theo, shut up," said Ray. He turned to the twins. "He's decided today is Taunt Scorpius Day, so ignore whatever he says."

The twins laughed, so completely in sync that it was a little creepy, and began to debate the potential side-effects of eating wrackspurts. They had not inherited all of their mother's oddities, but there was no convincing them that some of their favourite creatures did not exist.

"Thanks," Scorpius muttered to Ray.

"Don't worry about it."

He dropped his fork onto his plate and stood. "I'm going to the library." He waved his friends off when they asked if he wanted them to accompany him, heading out of the Great Hall alone. He walked into the back of the library, looking for a table far away from all the other students. He turned the corner around one of the bookshelves to find Rose at a table alone, a large pile of books stacked in front of her as she waved her wand. As he watched, the books rose into the air and began to do a sort of dance, if books can dance.

"How are you doing that?"

All of the books crashed to the floor as Rose jumped. "Scorpius! I had no idea you were there."

"I'm sorry I startled you. Are you okay?"

"Yes, I'm fine, none of them hit me."

Scorpius nodded and levitated the books back onto the table, making them stack into three neat piles.

"Thanks." Rose looked up at him and he was unsure what to do. Thankfully, she spoke. "Do you want to sit?"

"Yeah, thanks." He took the seat next to her, pulling parchment and quill out of his bag for something to do. "So, what are you doing? Apart from making books dance, of course."

"I was writing the Potions essay, but I got bored after a while. I couldn't seem to concentrate." He didn't know if he imagined the slight blush on her cheeks.

"I have to write that as well. We can do it together if you like."

She looked up and smiled. "Yeah, I'd like that."

Scorpius felt his heartbeat pick up when she smiled at him, then scolded himself for being such a girl. He looked away before he did anything stupid and pulled a Potions book towards him, finding the page they needed and placing it in front of them.

"We have to write on the effects first, so these passages," he pointed to the book, "should be all we need. It's basically just copying it out in your own words. And maybe try to make it more interesting than this book does."

Rose giggled and Scorpius nearly snapped his quill as his fingers tensed. He had not been expecting such a small sound to have that great an effect on him. This was going to be much harder than he had expected. They worked in silence, glancing up at the book then back to their parchment. As their pills scratched out lines of letters, Scorpius felt them shift closer to each other. He moved his chair on the pretence of making himself more comfortable, but it brought him a little closer to her. He knew this was probably a bad idea, due to his inability to concentrate when she was that close to him and he was able to smell the honey scent that seemed to come from the kind of shampoo she used. His quill stopped of its own accord and he closed his eyes, trying to break through the Rose-induced fog in his brain.

"Sorry, do you want to turn the page?"

Scorpius opened his eyes and turned his head towards her. Her face was closer than he had expected it to be and his breath caught in his throat. He had made the mistake of looking into her eyes and he was unable to speak.

"Scorpius?"

Without fully realising what he was doing, he reached his hand up to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear. He trailed his finger down her jawline and felt her shudder a little. He stopped his finger under her chin, then used it to guide her face towards his. He kept his own eyes open long enough to see hers close, then leaned his head towards hers. He pressed his lips against hers very softly and only for a second. He pulled back a little, the sides of their noses touching, but she moved forward to kiss him again. He moved his hand to cup her cheek and pull her closer. She lifted her arms and twisted his hair around her fingers. Immediately, Scorpius began to kiss her more deeply, wrapping his other arm around her waist as he pressed them back towards her chair. He caught her bottom lip between his teeth and smiled against her mouth when she let out a small moan. He pulled away to kiss her neck, pressing his lips against the soft skin behind her ear and eliciting another moan.

"Scorpius," she whispered, "what are we doing?"

He pulled away to look at her. "I thought that would be pretty obvious."

"I mean…why? We've always hated each other."

"But we don't hate each other anymore. In fact, I think I like you a little bit too much." He grinned and pressed his lips against hers again. He felt her fingers tighten around his hair, but she pulled away again.

"We can't do this in the library. I have far too many relatives for one of them not to appear."

He rested his forehead against hers. "Okay. Where should we go?"

She was silent for a moment, apparently thinking. "Well, there's always North Tower."

Scorpius pulled back with a grin and stood up, offering her his hand. She clasped it and he helped her up. "Miss Weasley, would you do me the honour of accompanying me to the top of North Tower?"

"Mr Malfoy, I would be delighted."

**Author's Note: So? What do you think? :D**


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